Minister finds support from family while fighting cancer (Video)

By
Keldy Ortiz
April 6, 2013 at 7:01 p.m.Updated April 6, 2013 at 11:07 p.m.

SEADRIFT - Family and friends came together Saturday for Sherard Cloud, who has spread the word of God.

Wearing "Team Sherard" T-shirts, they hoped to raise money to help Cloud pay his medical expenses.

Cloud, 50, a former minister and Seadrift resident, had surgery to remove his bladder in March to take out the cancer that was inside. According to his wife, April Cloud, the surgery and treatments are estimated to cost $100,000. While insurance will cover a portion of the costs, she is unsure what the final total will be.

Cloud has been recovering by taking medicine. He's also hoping to publish a Bible handbook this summer. It would be his second book in three years.

"I didn't understand what the Bible was saying," said Sherard Cloud at the Seadrift School, where the benefit occurred. "There's still a need for knowledge of God."

Cloud's first book, "Talking Points," came out in 2010. The purpose of the 232-page paperback was to provide commentary and help people understand the writings of 1 Peter and 2 Peter.

"I needed some questions answered relating to the Bible," said Cloud, believing others did as well.

Dealing with cancer didn't stop Cloud from working on his books. He worked on them every chance he got while he was not in the hospital.

Cloud, who entered the ministry in 1997, has waited a long time to publish. After serving in different churches in the Crossroads, he settled at Bloomington Church of Christ.

Robert Willis, 84, a friend, visited Cloud when Cloud served at the church in Bloomington. Willis remembered when Cloud was first a minister in a church in Vanderbilt.

"He started a baby and is now (growing) spiritually," said Willis, who has been friends with Cloud for 18 years.

After serving at the Bloomington church for five years, Cloud left because of heart problems in April 2009. Six months later, he discovered he had bladder cancer.

Cloud's wife has helped him during his health battle. She started working again at Citizens Medical Center after taking time off to care for her husband. For her, watching Cloud in pain was the hardest.

"He's always been a help to every type of person," said April Cloud, 47. The couple will celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary in May. "He's on the uphill now. At first, he couldn't get out of bed; now, he walks more."

Cloud's belief in God has helped him get through his hard times, said his sister Lisa Huddler.

"Me and my brother have been close, but this has made us closer," said Huddler, 47, who helped organize the benefit. "He really loves to preach the word of the Lord."

Cloud said he hopes to get back into the ministry again. He's planning to write two or three more books.